KOTA KINABALU: Several low-lying areas were hit by flash floods after a downpour that lasted some two hours in Sabah’s east coast Tawau district on Wednesday (Oct 5) evening.

In one of the areas, the Fuji Mart roundabout, which is located off Jalan Sin Onn, the flooding was partly caused due to clogged drainage.

A Tawau resident said the heavy rain started after 2pm.

A Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said they received a distress call from the public over rising water level at the roundabout at 4.57pm.

“A team that was deployed to the area only monitored the situation as no one was forced to be transferred to a flood shelter so far.

“The flash flood was triggered because of the blocked drainage system in the area which caused water to flow onto the road,” the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the spokesman said residential area Taman Capital was also inundated by flood waters.

However, no one was forced to move to higher ground, with the water level reportedly receding at about 5.30pm.

“The fire team which responded to the area also did not have to carry out rescue operations although they monitored the water level until it started to go down,” the spokesman said, adding that the operation ended at 5.49pm.